Pioneering but controversial taxi hailing app Uber could expand its operations to Middlesbrough.

Uber allows customers to order taxis quickly and easily using a mobile app and is now operating in 60 countries around the world.

In the UK, its drivers can be found in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Merseyside, Newcastle, Leeds, Bristol and Sheffield.

The firm is worth around £33bn.

An Uber spokesman told The Gazette that Middlesbrough is one of the towns it has looked at for future expansion.

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“Uber’s ambition is to be everywhere - any progressive, forward-thinking city that has a need for safe, reliable and efficient transportation - we want to be there," he said. "Middlesbrough is no exception.”

But he added that “at this time, I cannot confirm nor provide any further details regarding our expansion plans”.

A spokesman for Middlesbrough Council said the authority’s licensing department had not yet been approached by the company.

How Uber works

A million Londoners are now using Uber, but its growing popularity has seen major protests from the city’s black cab drivers.

But Uber’s app system has been called into question in the High Court.

Transport for London and Uber want guidance on whether the company’s smartphones are considered meters, which are outlawed for private hire vehicles.

A man holds a smartphone displaying the Uber app as London taxis line up in a protest (Image: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire)

The case was heard on the same day as London mayor Boris Johnson suggested the law governing private hire vehicles in the capital is being “systematically broken - or at least circumvented” by Uber.

Both TfL and Uber argued that the app is not a meter and therefore does not breach the law.